Today is the first day of Chinese New Year (2008). However, it’s not just the Chinese that are celebrating the new year… other ethnic like Koreans and Vietnamese are celebrating new year too, based on the lunisolar calendar.

Below is a music video of some Chinese New Year songs compilation, featuring celebs from Taiwan’s J-star agency; including members from popular boy-band 5566 and 183 Club etc…

A 2006 Chinese New Year music video, with New Year greetings in various languages

Chinese workers have made a huge drum, decorated with 480 lanterns in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China. The drum measures 6 metres in length and 4.8 metres in diameter, with Chinese word rat (鼠) embedded at the surface on both sides of the drum to celebrate the coming new year.

Chinese calendar is represented with 12 zodiac animals for every 12-year cycle in specific sequence – rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Next year will be the year of rat (begins on Feb 7 on Chinese New Year to be precise).

Workers working on the drum in early December (Image courtesy of Xinhuanet)

In Chinese astrology, the 12 zodiac animals represent different character and luck for a person depending on his/her birth date and time. The months and hours of Chinese calendar are also categorized by the same group of animals in particular orders, but some formal terms would normally be used instead of the zodiac animals when referring to months or hours.